Plane Makes 7 Flights With Dead Man in Wheel Well Before Anyone Notices

If you already get nervous flying, you may want to stop reading here, because this story will give you anything but more faith in air travel. It came to light when maintenance workers saw blood coming from the plane (I warned you!).

Maintenance workers noticed the blood on an iFly jet when it landed in Moscow on a return trip from Rimini, Italy. Realizing that blood should NOT be coming from an airplane, they investigated further and found the unthinkable -- a man's corpse.

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According to RT.com, the man was identified as Giorgio Abduladze, a 22-year-old Georgia national. A preliminary autopsy showed that he likely died from cold temperatures (he was only wearing a t-shirt and shorts), and that his body was likely on the plane for four days. FOUR DAYS. Authorities say that means he likely made at least SEVEN flights before being discovered, though given altitudes and low temperatures, it would be unlikely he survived even one.

Beyond my thoughts of horror for this man, I'm just stunned that it took them this long to discover the body. It presents so many questions, namely -- how the hell did he get in there, and how easy is it for others to do so? Also, shouldn't plane inspections be a little more thorough? I would think they'd at least take a peek at something as important as the wheels on which the aircraft lands.

To miss something like this once might be an unfortunate oversight; twice would be scary; but seven flights with a dead man in the wheel well? Well, that's just a good reason to take a bus.